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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| Name | Joseph E. "Joe" Kernan |
| Address |
South Bend, Indiana , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | http://www.in.gov/gov/ |
| Born |
April 08, 1946
|
| Died | July 29, 2020
(74 years)
|
| Contributor | Wabash |
| Last Modifed | RP
Jul 29, 2020 10:32am |
| Tags |
Caucasian - Celtic/Gaelic - Irish - Married - Navy - Catholic - Christian - Straight -
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| Info | Gov. Joe Kernan, the oldest of nine children, graduated from St. Joseph's High School in South Bend. He was a catcher on the baseball team at the University of Notre Dame, and graduated from there in 1968 with a degree in Government.
Kernan entered the United States Navy in 1969 and served as a Naval Flight Officer aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. In May of 1972, Kernan was shot down by the enemy while on a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. He was held as a prisoner of war for nearly 11 months. Kernan was repatriated in 1973 and continued on active duty with the Navy until December of 1974. For his service, Kernan received numerous awards, including the Navy Commendation Medal, two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After completing his Naval service, Kernan worked for Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati in 1975. He then returned to South Bend, where he worked for both the Schwarz Paper Company and the MacWilliams Corporation. He was South Bend's city controller from 1980 to 1984.
Joe Kernan was elected mayor of South Bend in 1987, 1991 and again in 1995, when he won with more than 82% of the vote. He is the longest serving mayor the city's history.
In 1996, Frank O'Bannon and Joe Kernan were elected to the top two positions in Indiana government. The O'Bannon-Kernan team was elected for a second term in 2000. As lieutenant governor of Indiana, Kernan served as the president of the Indiana Senate, the director of the Indiana Department of Commerce and as the commissioner of Agriculture.
Following the death of Gov. Frank O'Bannon, Joe Kernan was sorn in as Governor on September 13th, 2003.
The Governor has been honored by his alma mater when he was chosen as the commencement speaker for the University of Notre Dame's graduation ceremonies. He was awarded an honorary doctorate during the 1998 event.
Joe and his wife, Maggie, were married in 1974. They have a home in South Bend, where Maggie works as a marketing specialist for 1st Source Bank. A Purdue University graduate who is active in community service, Maggie has been mentoring a child through a South Bend Community Schools program since 1994.
Obituary: [Link]
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